The objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological conditioning of three pearl millet seed lots of the BRS1501 commercial cultivar. The treatments consisted of untreated seeds, seeds hydrated with pure water and seeds hydrated with water of eight different potentials provided by PEG 6000 (-0.1; -0.2; -0.4; -0.6; -0.8; -1.0; -1.2 and -1.4 MPa). The seeds were evaluated for water content, germination (first count of germination and final percentage), seedling emergence (final percentage and seedling emergence speed), accelerated ageing and electrical conductivity. The results showed that pearl millet seeds emit primary roots at 33% water content, but as expected, the higher the PEG 6000 concentration, the longer the imbibition period necessary. For the potentials of -1.2 and -1.4 MPa, the seeds did not absorb more than 28% of water, and thus, did not emit primary roots. The pearl millet seeds, cultivar BRS 1501, emit the primary root at 33% water content, at a potential of zero MPa. It can be concluded that the physiological conditioning of pearl millet seeds by using pure water or PEG 6000, does not interfere in the initial seedling development.